State of the Art: Art of the State – Group Exhibition of Photocopy Art – February 1987
State of the Art: Art of the State – Group Exhibition of Photocopy Art – February 1987 – A collaboration between Brisbane ARIs and the Fine Arts Society, UQ
Inspired by the 1986 Channel Four documentary series that profiled the visual arts in the UK, Europe, USA and Australia in the 1980s this collaboration of artists working in Brisbane’s 1980s vibrant artist-run ecology and artists and students who ran the Fine Arts Society at the University of Queensland was designed as a counter narrative to the then dominant narratives about contemporary art and celebrity prevailing in the media.
Over thirty artists were invited to participate with ephemeral A4 scale photocopy art works responding to both the Channel Four series and/or current issues for artists living and working in Brisbane during the oppressive Bjelke-Petersen era. No other documentation exists at the time of writing this post.
This image is a digital copy of the A3 photocopy posters designed by artist and playwright Philip Dean to promote and publicize the exhibition distributed on campus and throughout Brisbane City. The aim of the photocopy art event was to both re-activate the Old Darnell Gallery into an artist-run space with potential for uptake and to encourage dialogue and discussion abut the state of political art in Queensland at the time between artists working in Brisbane CBD and artists and students on the St. Lucia university campus or working on 4ZZZ Public radio, then located on campus below the Refectory.
While over thirty artists participated in the exhibition and fine art students and 4zzz Collective members responded enthusiastically, the event was to be a one off exhibition event.
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